Bombardier has delivered the first of its new Global 7500 business
jets. The Canadian manufacturer marked the delivery in a special ceremony at
its Montreal headquarters on December 20.

Although the first delivery was speculated to be to long-time Bombardier Global family customer Nikki Lauda, Corporate Jet Investor can reveal that it was Stonebriar Commercial which took delivery of the first Global 7500 to enter service.

Stonebriar Commercial Finance is privately held a US-based company
that finances assets across various industries. In 2016 it acquired the
business aviation investments team from Guggenheim.

Speaking with Corporate Jet Investor
from his office on the eve of the delivery, Bombardier’s president David Coleal
said that the first delivery marks the dawn of a new era. “We are basically
making history with the delivery of this first aircraft and its entry into
service,” he said.

Bombardier says it will deliver the next Global 7500 in
2019. The current plan is to deliver 15 – 20 Global 7500s in 2019 and 35 to 40
aircraft in 2020.

“If you think about, we are doubling production from one
year to the next,” Coleal added.

Bombardier announced the Global 7500 as the Global 7000 in
October 2010, alongside its smaller stablemate the Global 8000.

The aircraft was renamed as the Global 7500 in May 2018, a
day after the company announced that it would be introducing two new aircraft:
the Global 5500 and the Global 6500.

The original development schedule called for first Global
7000 deliveries in 2016, however a major wing redesign was announced in 2015,
causing a two-year delay to the program.

Although the company has been coy about the smaller Global
8000, it has said publicly that its priority had been the Global 7500, as it
has a stronger order backlog.